How to prevent weight gain while you work from home

Most of us are enjoying our work-from-home arrangements. After all, it affords us flexibility in our schedule. However, it also has its downsides. For one, you might find yourself snacking more often.

Moreover, working from home can often leave people feeling lethargic and having a lack of energy. This, accompanied by little to no exercise can cause weight gain.

Instead of jumping in on the latest dieting fads, here are four safe and natural ways to effectively counter weight gain when you’re WFH. All while adding some nutrition to your diet.

1. Boost your metabolism

Boosting your metabolic rate will decrease the activity needed to burn off calories. This can be done by introducing foods that help increase your metabolic rate. Some of which include, fish, iron-rich vegetables like broccoli, spinach, bok choy and beans, and lingzhi.

Another point of contention is sleep. Sleeping less than six to eight hours every night will not only increase hunger pangs but also negatively impact your metabolism.

If you’re looking to incorporate lingzhi into your diet, Eu Yan Sang’s Pure Lingzhi Essence helps to improve your digestion functions, all while reducing fatigue and enhancing immunity.

2. Reduce your appetite

An increased dietary fibre intake will make you full for longer and decrease the need to snack throughout the day. Eating fruits and vegetables as snacks are also good alternatives to other processed foods.

You can also choose to take supplements that can help suppress the absorption of fats and sugar and slow down your appetite.

Another beneficial option is to consume roselle, a traditional TCM herb that’s otherwise known for its cooling effect.

3. Detox

Accompanied with a caloric deficit, the consumption of enzymes will help in detoxing your body, improving your digestive health, and aiding in weight management. There are certain foods that are better for natural detoxification than others.

Try adding more fats and oils, proteins, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and nuts and seeds to your diet. Detox diets will usually include foods that are rich in nutrients and high in fibre.

Alternatively, you can also consider TCM classics that are loaded on antioxidants and can help with indigestion.

4. Don't consume food too late

Chinese Medicine practitioners believe that the human digestive organs are at their strongest points during the day.

The best time to have a meal is between 7am and 11am – this is the period when your stomach and spleen are at their peak function. The worst time to eat is after 6pm.

Your body switches into a ‘self-repair’ mode at night, therefore the last thing it needs is more food being digested. If you consume your meal too late during the afternoon or evening, your body will simply retain more of the calories and energy from your food as body fat.

At the end of the day, the best way to manage body fat is a holistic approach. We can speculate forever about ways to trick our bodies into shedding fat. But time-tested methods, supplemented by an understanding of the body’s natural harmonies, have persisted for a reason.

This article was first published in The Singapore Women's Weekly.